InkStains is a random collection of stories – fiction and nonfiction of any genre – handwritten daily over the course of a year and published one month at a time.InkStains is a random collection of stories – fiction and nonfiction of any genre – handwritten daily over the course of a year.When John Urbancik started this project, he aimed to write a story every day for a year. By hand. He found an inexpensive yet fancy fountain pen, started with a Moleskine notepad, and on 1 January 2013 set to writing.He took one mandatory day off monthly. Stories did not have to be fiction. Nonfiction, essays, reviews, memoirs – all genres – everything was open, so long as they were complete.These are the results: failures and successes both. Everything is included.He cleaned up grammar and spelling, and spent months typing up the almost 250,000 handwritten words; he did my best to strengthen the writing where it was weak. The author is very happy with a lot of the stories, and disappointed with others, but some are fantastic. (I’m biased. You decide.)

Left for dead by a band of strange, dark warriors, John Hedekira sets out on a quest to get revenge and to rescue his siblings from the hands of his attackers. Joining him is the kind, innocent Faith Pinck, and together they must stop the evil warriors before they can complete their mission: a dark plot to collide humanity with the world of an unholy, supernatural being.The Golden Lands, one of the three worlds of Terra, is supposed to be a place of peace, light, and happiness. But the Golden Lands hasn't exactly been such a place for John Hedekira, a jaded, hot-headed teenager. His parents disappear when he is thirteen, and he's left to look after his younger sister and brother. One evening, John decides that he has had it with the distant, self-pitiful dispositions of his siblings, and resolves to shut them out of his life for good...or so he thinks. That same evening, a band of warriors of a dark race invade his home, kidnapping John's siblings...and leaving him to bleed out on the floor of his own house. But John is not undone so easily. Compelled by his own hatred of the warriors that left him to die, and a sense of duty towards his siblings, John sets out on a quest for vengeance. Joining him is Faith Pinck, a caring, innocent girl who doesn't yet understand the true motives behind John's desire to track the evil band of warriors.And in the midst of their adventures as they journey to rescue John's siblings, they begin to uncover a deeper, darker plot that will endeavor to collide the world of humanity with the world of an unholy, malicious, supernatural being.

A sinister Necromancer wishes for power and immortality. A dying hero wishes for one last crack at evil. Lord Harlequin wants to sow chaos and strife. When all their paths cross on a magical night, their lives are changed forever.“This series is truly terrifying. Mr Harwood is a master of horror.” “Tremendously Different Apocalyptic Epic” “I have never read a zombie book quite like this one.” The second series in the Of Sudden Origin universe.Since the beginning, nature has revised and deleted her various life forms. Versions of man have been dominant for hundreds of thousands if not millions of years. Africanus, Habilis, Erectus, Neanderthal, and many more, have returned to the dust from which we all come. At times they have overlapped with one another and even interbred until a dominant new design supplants that which came before. Telepathus is here now. "What of us?" asks the Sapiens. Perhaps Sapiens has had its time too... Ten years have passed since the modern world was riddled with FNDz (Frontal Negation Dementia) and North America fought to the edge of extinction. America has folded in on itself in perfect isolation. Infected but medically stabilized people live in exile, and beyond the wall known as the Terminus, a new species of Man is growing stronger every day. On the isolated Mid-Atlantic peninsula of Delmarva, a splinter group of Americans led by a man without morals, have created their own nation. A group of them will follow a team of Northern explorers into the very heart of darkness, awakening the new species to the competition that Homo Sapiens really are.

ChiarOscuro is an online fantasy series being published at https://chiaroscuroseries.wordpress.com/. In an alternate world where humanity survived an event which almost brought their extinction five millenia ago, the ancient power has returned and now a select few in this world, whether willingly or unwillingly, will play a role in keeping humanity's flame burning.ChiarOscuro Episode Five New Destinations (Words 8,249).Urok is rocked by the events that followed in the previous episode and the group now confront Sailem after finding themselves out in the middle of the desert. Meanwhile Decabia's forces keep heading west....SERIESChiarOscuro is an ongoing online fantasy series being published at https://chiaroscuroseries.wordpress.com/. Taking place in an alternate world where humanity is just discovering it's full potential after nearly being brought to extinction five millenia ago, the darkness that once threatened humanity has returned, seemingly with the intention to finish what they failed to do 5,000 years ago.ChiarOscuro is made up of 'Books' each one containing an Episode (these normally span a week or two) and a chapter is released throughout the duration of an episode. The official site will be the first place to find the newly released chapters at first, as well as extra pieces that delve deeper into the lore, world and characters of ChiarOscuro and once the Episode has concluded, it will be shortly be available as a single 'Book' to read in full.So follow a small select few in this time where the world's and humanity's certain is uncertain and travel with them to meet many different cultures, people, beliefs, customs through deserts, mountains, the city of nine walls and even the parts of the world the human eye cannot see...SERIES SUMMARYTaking place in a world where at the dawn of human civilisation, a catastrophe struck nearly bringing humanity to extinction and close to forever changing the world as we know it.They called them Demons, twisted, ruthless creatures with no seemingly other drive than to conquer all those weaker than them as they were the strongest and fittest and Earth seemed close to falling into the hands of these strange beings, who came to our world with no warning and legends speak of skies literally tearing open as Demons invaded our world.However, humanity as it always seems to do, fought back and though most of the people living at that time were forever lost, the Demons were defeated, the remaining leaving this world or scattered as they fled the humans only hours before they had been slaughtering mercilessly.It’s been 5,000 years since those events, though many dismiss the tale as legend and humanity has only recently started picking up again, there have been some strange reports recently across Aludin and with the mysterious Decabia to the east, the era of peace may soon be coming to the end and new heroes will have to answer the call to defend humanity’s flame once again, as they did so 5,000 years ago.

When a werewolf is killed, Cassidy Blaze is sent to navigate the paranormal underworld to find out why. The fate of the world could rest upon what she finds.When a werewolf is killed, pyrokinetic monster-fighting agent, Cassidy Blaze is sent to navigate the paranormal underworld to find out why. While tracking down the mystery, she encounters an adventurer who can see the future, a ghoulish mobster, a monstrous beast, a man who thrills in hunting the paranormal, and an ancient God planning to destroy the world.

For Ava-Claire Sullivan, it's bad enough that loving vampire Peter Mackintire might kill him the rest of the way. His equally immortal mother keeps trying to murder her so Di won’t lose another of her precious sons. A promise Peter made nearly a hundred years ago means loving someone will kill him. Ava's done her best to either end her own feelings or stifle his, but she's losing; he's falling harder for her every night. She hasn't found a way to free him of his promise yet, and it's almost too late. But her own terminally ill mother is dying fast, and now Ava-Claire is forced to choose between the last days of her mother's life and freeing Peter as they wait for Di to come up with yet another plan to destroy their love, and Ava’s life.

wa-ter-locked adjective Definition: enclosed entirely, or almost entirely, by water Example: What happens when the water vampire you’ve promised yourself to actually wants you to go through with the wedding? For Gemma Melcombe, her engagement to Terrance Ramsay was a political maneuver. For Terry, it’s something entirely more. Rough waters may be ahead for these two headstrong lovers, but until they come to an agreement, Gemma will be waterlocked. Waterlocked is a novella in the Elemental World series.

Lark Noble is finally happy. She’s trying to move on and put the events of the past behind her: the people who avoided her because she talked to the ghost of her dead twin sister, the parents who couldn’t be around her anymore and even the attempt she made on her own life. She finally has friends—people who know her secrets and still care about her—and she has Ben, the cute guy she never saw coming. Wren Noble is lonely. Unable to interact with the living, she wants to be happy for her sister’s newfound happiness, but she feels like she’s losing her. It doesn’t help that Kevin, the very not-dead guy she was starting to fall for, seems to be moving on. Then Wren meets Noah, the spirit of a young man who died a century ago. Noah is cute, he’s charming and he makes Wren feel something she’s never felt before. But Noah has a dark influence on Wren, and Lark’s distrust of him drives the sisters apart for the first time in their lives. As Halloween approaches and the veil between the worlds thins, bringing the dead closer to the world of the living, Lark must find a way to stop whatever deadly act Noah is planning, even if it means going through her sister to do so.

Darian Frey is down on his luck. He can barely keep his squabbling crew fed and his rickety aircraft in the sky. Even the simplest robberies seem to go wrong. It's getting so a man can't make a dishonest living any more. Enter Captain Grist. He's heard about a crashed aircraft laden with the treasures of a lost civilisation, and he needs Frey's help to get it. There's only one problem. The craft is lying in the trackless heart of a remote island, populated by giant beasts and subhuman monsters. Dangerous, yes. Suicidal, perhaps. Still, Frey's never let common sense get in the way of a fortune before. But there's something other than treasure on board that aircraft. Something that a lot of important people would kill for. And it's going to take all of Frey's considerable skill at lying, cheating and stealing if he wants to get his hands on it... Strap yourself in for another tale of adventure and debauchery, pilots and pirates, golems and daemons, double-crosses and double-double-crosses. The crew of the Ketty Jay are back!

Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, housed in a Gothic mansion on the bleak northern moors, is elite, expensive, and unwelcoming. When Evie Johnson is torn away from her home by the sea to become the newest scholarship student, she is more isolated than she could have dreamed. Strict teachers, snobbish students, and the oppressive atmosphere of Wyldcliffe leave Evie drowning in loneliness. Evie’s only lifeline is Sebastian, a rebellious, mocking, dangerously attractive young man she meets by chance. As Evie’s feelings for Sebastian grow with each secret meeting, she starts to fear that he is hiding something about his past. And she is haunted by glimpses of a strange, ghostly girl—a girl who is so eerily like Evie, she could be a sister. Evie is slowly drawn into a tangled web of past and present that she cannot control. And as the extraordinary, elemental forces of Wyldcliffe rise up like the mighty sea, Evie is faced with an astounding truth about Sebastian, and her own incredible fate. Gillian Shields’s electrifying tale will dazzle readers with suspense, mysticism, and romance.

In a world that has been consumed by evil and is ruled by the fallen angels of hell and their dragons comes one girl, the Guardian. The battle begins with one soul.In a world consumed by evil and the fallen archangels of hell, comes a girl. With the, smallest, glimmer of hope, she is chosen to fight for humanity, and all that is good in the world. She is the Guardian.The Eighth Dragon is a unique blend of his imaginative interpretation of historical mythology, religion, and dystopian world science fiction. The Eighth Dragon plunges the reader into the classic conflict between good and evil where the world is consumed by death and destruction: a world of fallen angels, dragons, and deadly adversaries. The Eighth Dragon is filled with a sense of non-stop excitement and suspense as the reader watches a mythical world unfold before their eyes.

Introducing The Shaman Of The Earth Maker and the return of The Pearl. “Every sentient species has a secret joy in thinking they are the most creative harbingers of death but each and every one cowers in corners to what the natural order of things can do.”Mayenta has returned once again to the land with no recollection of where she had gone. All she knew was, every time she returned to the vale, she returned lying in the same spot underneath a dogwood tree growing high upon Honor Mountain--and, as usual, she returned naked. What did it mean that she left Paigorya without warning? Where did she go? WHY did she go? And, most importantly, who was she?The Dogwood Tree eBook short story includes a free excerpt from Laurie Y. Elrod's novel, Blackridge-Book One of the So'ladiun.

Balik is an obedient member of society on Space Station Hope: he follows The Council's systems, excels at school and seems happy to follow in his parents footsteps... But, his real life is filled with secrets he can share with no one. As he follows his suspicions about the space station into ever more dangerous territory it seems like his whole world will unravel around him. What is the truth?“I wasted no time looking around the bland plastic space I had lived in all my life. There were no real memories here for me, no cherished moments or things to reminisce over: all that had stopped when I was eight years old and learned that life on the SS Hope was built on lies.”Outwardly, Balik is an obedient member of society on Space Station Hope: he follows The Council's systems, excels at school and seems happy to follow in his parents footsteps...Balik's real life is filled with secrets he can share with no one. As he follows his suspicions about the space station into ever more dangerous territory it seems like his whole world will unravel around him. But, he doesn't understand everything: things are wrong, he is sure of that, he just doesn't know why.When Cassie unexpectedly comes into his life, Balik struggles to find his balance. For years he's investigated the oddities of the world he lives in, but Cassie makes him question things in a different way... Can he believe in this girl who seems so much a part of the system he distrusts? Would she put a stop to his plans to break out if she knew what he was really up to? Balik can't be sure of anything - except the fact that he can't leave her alone.

A young boy caught in the midst of fighting parents and poverty wishes for a different life. Falling asleep with his grandmother's pendant, he wakes to find himself in a strange new land where he can continue to suffer in poverty or become a hero of unimaginable dreams.Thor and his life long friend Balder venture into the realm of the Frost Giants. There they discover a place long hidden from the world of men. a place of mystery, intrigue, and tragedy, when secrets of the past are revealed that, unknown to Thor, will set him on the path of his destiny.

In the aftermath of the fight, Elliot looks back down the road that led to Jaret's election as Mayor. Harlem's Deck goes introspective, with glimpses into the brother's past and a look at the nature of the shallows.For fans of Peter F.Hamilton, Iain M Banks and Jon Courtney Grimwood.In the aftermath of the fight, Elliot looks back down the road that led to Jaret's election as Mayor. Harlem's Deck goes introspective, with glimpses into the brother's past and a look at the nature of the shallows.For fans of Peter F.Hamilton, Iain M Banks and Jon Courtney Grimwood.(...Back cover write up...)The city of Neppon drifts through the shallows, where the walls circling the mortal realm are thin. Here the daemons gather out of the surrounding night, drawn by its promise of candle flame warmth.As the election for the city's mayoral office approaches, one man stands head and shoulders above the other candidates. His reputation? A bastion for everything that is good and honest, in a world beset from all sides by horrors. But Jaret Roscan carries a secret. A secret that could bring ruin to his political career, and chaos to his beloved city.One person carries the key to his salvation. The question is, will they come forward in his hour of need?Harlem's Deck; a story in instalments. Keep your hand close to your chest...